


after midnight (it’s cold outside)

by writermercury



Category: K-pop, NCT
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Betrayal, Boys In Love, Character Death, Everyone Is Gay, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Male Character, Heartbreak, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Late Night Conversations, Lee Taeyong and Mark Lee are brothers, Love, M/M, Sad Ending, Secret Relationship, Strangers to Lovers, Violence, mark is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:15:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 21,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26816473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writermercury/pseuds/writermercury
Summary: “say, what's your name pretty dancer boy?" mark asked with a confident smile, returning hyuck's shy one. now donghyuck was the scared one."pretty boy?""very pretty. now answer the question, would you?"or;haechan and mark meet under dangerous circumstances.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Moon Taeil, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Taeyong/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

"the midnight waits for the hands of the clock to unveil it."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝

After Midnight

WayV

1:05───|────── 3:29

|◁II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %

◟◞

Korea, 2020.

Dance was seen as weak, feminine, and a distinct sign that you were gay. It was a hit to the fragile masculine ego to be seen as feminine; clearly sexism was somehow still prevalent. Society was oppressive, and nobody could stand up to change. Anything even slightly feminine was seen as gay.

And being gay was illegal, even punishable by death.

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ

┊ ┊ ┊ ┊┊┊

┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩

┊ ┊ ┊ ✫

┊ ┊ ✩

┊ ⊹ ✯

✯

Donghyuck was an ordinary, simple boy. He worked in an office, lived in an apartment with a roommate. He had lived in an orphanage in the south of the country right up until he was of age, then it was a fight to get any job and any house. A fight for survival amongst thousands of other lives in poverty.

Luckily, a man called Ten (who lived with him in a homeless shelter right after he left the orphanage) found an apartment, and it was a perfect fit for both of them. They got along very easily and quickly became very close. Similar interests, inside jokes and their personalities were all factors as to why they were such good friends, but it was mostly because they both shared a burning passion for dance.

As they moved freely across the dance floor, all the emotions and anxieties running through their veins were released, no longer prisoners of the oppressive society they were forced to live in and hide who they truly were simply to breathe another day.

God bless the man who owned the dance studio, an angel named Kim Doyoung. He was a kind, empathetic, generous man who refused to give in to the bias against minorities in the country, and instead he helped Donghyuck and Ten both financially and with their happiness.

Not only did he let the pair use his studio during the night to dance away from prying eyes, he also helped them out with paying rent and for other necessities. He was truly an angel sent straight from heaven, and the two boys were more than grateful for everything he'd done for them.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was a cold autumn night, and Donghyuck was dancing by himself in Doyoung's studio. Dressed in all black, a hoodie over his head and a mask over his face, he moved his body and let himself get swallowed by the music playing in the room. He let the beat swallow him as the song began to play.

The lights were turned off, so he was simply a black figure dancing in the middle of an empty room. He hit each beat on point, pouring his emotions into the song he related to so intensely. Each movement conveyed every single fear Donghyuck felt in his heart; fear of heights, fear of thunderstorms, fear of confined spaces , fear of death and fear of being caught by the police for being a 'practising homosexual', or, as he liked to put it, loving whoever the fuck he wanted.

Dance was definitely very therapeutic and helped Donghyuck forget all of those things, he was just a figure dancing in the shadows with total anonymity. He could be himself.

Just as the chorus began again, Donghyuck prepared himself for the intense drop ahead of him. Sudenly, there came a loud crashing sound and the door was slammed open, a body of a young man falling in. Donghyuck ran and stopped the music, before turning around very slowly to look at the boy. He thanked the gods above that he wasn't a police officer.

Now out of his trance and peaceful state of mind, he stared at the boy on the ground with a mixture of fear, embarrassment and anger. It wasn't everyday that a stranger watched you do something deemed 'forbidden'.

He slowly got up and met Donghyuck's icy eyes with his own frightened ones.

"I... I'm so sorry!!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pretty boy and stranger meet.

"the universe has moved for us, without missing a single thing."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Serendipity  
BTS  
1:05 ───|────── 4:37  
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▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
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ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
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"I... I-I'm so sorry!" The boy said quickly, widening his eyes as he looked at Donghyuck. The boy could swear that Donghyuck's eyes were icy enough to freeze the entire oceans. They both stood frozen in their positions for what seemed like hours, the room filled with the deafening sound of silence.

In a split second, before he could even blink twice, Donghyuck had the boy pinned to the wall with a knife pushed to his throat, the glare in his eyes unforgivable.

"Who the fuck are you." He growled, pressing the knife a little deeper against the boy's throat, almost enough to start drawing blood.

"I-I'm Mark!!" Mark whimpered at the sting and said quickly, closing his eyes tightly to avoid Donghyuck's harsh glare. He was scared and definitely not afraid to admit it, he had a knife to his throat for god's sake. Although he could definitely understand why this kid was mad at him, he probably could've knocked or something.

"Mark, hm? You tell ANYONE I was here, and I will find you and slit your fucking throat, understood?" Donghyuck growled, clearly very angry. His voice remained quiet though, as to not draw any attention to himself.

Mark just nodded instantly before speaking up. "Now can you please remove the knife?" He said timidly after a while; the knife really hurt. 

"Oh.. right.. sorry," Donghyuck mumbled and shoved the knife back into his pocket. Stepping away in embarrassment, he turned the music on but quite to fill the awkward silence now enveloping the room. Mark smiled a little at the sight and stared at Donghyuck; and despite the darkness, he could tell one thing. The boy sure was pretty.

"You're very good. How often do you come here?" He asked after a longer while of an awkward lack of conversation between the two, sitting down on the floor against the wall. Donghyuck blushed lightly and sat down opposite him. He wasn't used to compliments about his dancing, except maybe from Ten.

"Every night. Usually I come with my friend, his name is Ten." Hyuck said, beginning to smile. Any stranger could tell that he loved to talk about his passion for dance.

"I can tell you practice a lot, nobody is that talented from birth. Say, what's your name pretty dancer boy?" Mark asked with a confident smile, returning Hyuck's shy one. Now Donghyuck was the scared one.

"P-pretty boy?"

"Very pretty. Now answer the question, would you?" 

"I-I'm Donghyuck." He said quietly, his cheeks bright red as he grew more flustered around the other. This Mark boy was really his type and that scared him even more.

"Nice to meet you, pretty boy." Mark whispered and stood up, walking over to the door. Donghyuck hadn't even noticed that the sun was beginning to rise.

"Pretty boy? I told you my name." Donghyuck said in protest. He knew that the nickname would only make him more flustered as time went on.

"I know, but pretty boy suits you." Mark shrugged as if it was the most obvious statement in the world, which it was in his eyes. Donghyuck looked up at Mark and squealed on the inside, but kept it cool to save some embarrassment on the outside.

"Whatever, Mark. Are you leaving?" He asked, getting up also.

"Yep, I have work soon, so I want to get some sleep. See you 'round, pretty boy." Mark said, and with that, he left. Just like that, the hot boy Donghyuck just met was gone. He hadn't even given him his number.

Donghyuck touched his cheeks gently, feeling the flush gathering on them. "God damnit Mark.." He mumbled to nobody in particular. The room seemed so empty to him without Mark there, though hed only met him like ten minutes ago.

"What are you doing to me?"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The next night, Donghyuck was dancing with Ten this time. That was the usual routine, but sometimes they took breaks to get some more rest. Afterall, the day was for work.

Both were once again immersed in the music, moving their bodies sensually, gliding across the floor almost seamlessly. Just as the song ended there was a faint knock on the door; sending the pair into a state of panic. Donghyuck calmed down though as the door opened.

"Am I interrupting?" Mark whispered as he came in with a smile. Donghyuck couldn't help but smile back, he thought he'd never see Mark ever again. But it seemed that fate was on his side.

"Who are you?" Ten asked, frowning at the male. However Donghyuck just patted Ten's shoulder in reassurance.

"That's Mark. He won't tell, don't worry." The boy said and then turned to Mark. "Why're you here?" 

"Just to watch. Nice to meet you, Ten I assume? I'm Mark." 

"Oh, well make yourself comfortable." Hyuck said and turned on the music yet again.

Mark sat down on the floor at the back, mesmerised by the pair of dancers; well one of them in particular; the pretty boy he couldn't stop thinking about since the previous night.

And with that, they danced together for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the ensuing two weeks...

"there's a billion ways to feel love, with you I don't need any reason."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
we go nanana  
WayV  
1:32 ───|────── 3:27  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
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ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

Over the ensuing two weeks, Mark would come along and watch the two boys dance. It had become a routine for him at this point, and none of them had any complaints. Donghyuck seemed happier than usual, and that was enough for Ten to enjoy Mark's presence.

Mark's brother, Taeyong, had become increasingly curious about this 'dancer' he was going to watch each night that had him so starstruck that he missed out on sleep. So, one day, he decided to tag along with Mark.

As they neared the dance studio, Mark gently nudged his brother and whispered quietly in his ear.

"You have to be quiet. They might like.. threaten you. Just don't worry about it okay?" He said then went in once he got Taeyong's apprehensive nod. Could you blame him though?

As usual, the pair inside were dancing to any random song that came on, and having fun with one another. Light laughter could be heard from outside the room, making the brothers smile at the beautiful sounds. Mark knocked gently then smiled even more. "Hey Hyuckie. This is my brother, Taeyong. He can watch with me, right?"

Donghyuck and Ten both turned their gaze to the stranger next to Mark, both with very different reactions. 

Donghyuck nodded a little, tensing up too. He didn't enjoy meeting new people. "Hi. I'm Donghyuck." He said simply and turned off the music.

Ten, however, was completely star-struck. This was surely the most handsome man he'd ever seen, and Taeyong felt the exact same way.

Mark and Donghyuck laughed to themselves, watching them just stare at each other for what seemed like hours. 

"Um.. gonna introduce yourselves?" Mark said with a raised brow.

"O-oh!! I'm Ten. Nice to meet you!!" Ten said quickly and stuck his hand out awkwardly. 

"I'm Taeyong." The other man said quietly, the colour rising to his cheeks when they made contact. 

"Anyway, let's dance!!" Donghyuck said and turned the music back on to cut off the awkward tension. Taeyong and Mark smiled and took a seat at the back, watching the two dancers, completely in love.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Somewhere along the way, both Mark and Taeyong joined in with them, and they were now entering the second hour of dancing with each other. None of them were bored in the slightest, but they were all tired. They didn't say anything however, preferring to keep dancing their hearts out for the night.

Smiles, winks and flirty remarks were exchanged between the respective pairs the whole time, distracting them from the dance they were supposed to be doing. Donghyuck would've liked to have thought about the pair of hot boys being a distraction, but all he could think of was Mark.

Donghyuck had to admit that this was the most fun he'd had for a while now. As the sun started to rise, they all made their way to the exit, bags slung over their shoulders and sweat literally dripping down their bodies. 

Out of nowhere, Ten pulled Taeyong away from the group and into a small alleyway behind the studio so they wouldn't be seen.

"I know we just met but.. I really want to get to know you. You're super cute and, well, an amazing dancer. Can I perhaps have your number, and we could maybe hang out sometime?" He blurted out as fast as possible, flushing red from embarrassment. He wasn't used to asking out people, since hed never been in a relationship before.

Taeyong went equally as red and gave Ten his number, before running away to save himself from even more embarrassment. He thought Ten was absolutely adorable, and vice-versa.

Meanwhile, Mark smiled at Donghyuck. "You know, the studio doesn't open for another two hours. Do you think we can sneak back in and maybe.. hang out? And I could get your number afterwards?" 

Donghyuck bit his lip to stop himself from squealing and nodded, the two going back into the dance studio. The thought of more time alone with one another was enough to get them both excited and even a little flustered. 

You could say they'd both developed tiny little crushes on one another. What could they say, love moves fast.

And so, for the next two hours, that is how Mark and Donghyuck spent their time; talking, having fun, learning more about each other, falling in love. And of course getting each others' number.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eating pizza and fighting.

"if you're going to try something, I want it to be more adventurous than safe."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Dazzle Dazzle  
Weki Meki  
1:17 ───|────── 3:09  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
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ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
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┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
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✯

a week later

Twirling around with a smile on his face, Donghyuck waited patiently for Mark to arrive. For the past week, every night without fail, the two had met up in the dance studio to dance together. It was almost a routine now, and Donghyuck felt happier than he had felt in a long time. He couldn't help it; Mark just made him feel so... happy.

A loud scream came from the younger male when he felt a weight jump on his back. The poor boy almost fell to the ground, but managed to uphold both himself and the person on his back. Donghyuck caught his breath then tried to glare at the person that scared the living daylights out of him.

Mark giggled to himself and got off Donghyuck's back, setting a bag down on the ground. Donghyuck had been too immersed in his dance to even notice the door slowly creep open, so Mark took the opportunity to terrify the poor soul and he found it absolutely hilarious, though Hyuck would disagree.

"Hey Hyuckie. I brought some food for you, since you're here all night... I made it myself!" Mark said happily, turning the music off so they could hear each other better. Donghyuck swore that Mark's voice was the prettiest sound a person could hear.

"Really? That's so thoughtful, thank you Markie." Donghyuck grinned softly and sat down on the floor, opening the bag to take out Mark's homemade meal for the both of them. It smelled dodgy, but Hyuck decided to ignore it. It's the thought that counted, right?

"You're welcome, now eat up. I'm sure you're very tired." The boy said and sat opposite him, eagerly awaiting the reaction to what he thought was his delicious meal.

Donghyuck felt himself blushing lightly at Mark's gesture, then he felt himself gagging when he tried the food. He didn't wanna hurt Mark's feelings though, so he acted like it was very nice. Again, it was the thought that counted.

Then Mark tried the food, and all hell broke loose. He swallowed with a grimace and stared at the younger boy, an eyebrow raised. He saw right through him.

Donghyuck couldn't keep up the act with Mark staring at him so intensely, so he broke down into fits of giggles, which made Mark go bright red. "God, how much salt did you put?!" He laughed and quickly put the food in the bag to keep the smell away.

"Hey! I'm not a natural chef!" He protested, crossing his arms to act like he was mad. In truth, he could never be mad at the younger, it was actually adorable to watch Donghyuck laugh because of him. And also he didn't want to tell him that he put about 13 tablespoons of salt in. 

"I can tell." Hyuck mumbled to himself, earning himself a punch in the arm. "Ow!! I'm just confirming what you said!" 

"Shh. Let's just order a pizza or something." Mark said with a soft laugh, which eased Hyuck's guilt for insulting the older. Though the insult was due considering how disgusting that dish was.

"Agreed." He agreed, and they ended up ordering two large pizzas between themselves to eat together.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"God that pizza was amazing." Mark mumbled and leaned back, holding his full stomach as he let out a soft groan that Donghyuck found absolutely adorable.

"I'd say it was, but I barely had any." Donghyuck said in annoyance with a pointed glare at Mark, who just shrugged.

"Should've taken a slice." He said simply, winking at Donghyuck to taunt him. And it annoyed Hyuck so much more.

"I did, but your fatass ate it all!" He whined and flicked Mark's forehead. 

"Did not! You just didn't take any!" Mark yelled, flicking Hyuck's forehead back. 

"Pizza hog." Hyuck mumbled and turned away from Mark with crossed arms.

"Hey! You take that back!" Mark said and leaned forward, basically towering over a now blushing Donghyuck. Despite the situation, the position was making him more flustered than hed like to admit; what, with Mark towering over him like he was about to-

"Pizza. Hog." Hyuck repeated, like the brat he was. 

Mark launched himself forward like a parachute, grabbing Hyuck and tickling him as much as possible. "Take it back!!" He yelled again to Donghyuck, who was now crying from laughter. This was literal torture, he couldn't even focus on Mark's hot face while being tickled.

"Stop!!" Hyuck laughed, trying to push Mark away. But Mark wasn't having it.

"Take. It. BACK!" He screamed yet again.

"No!" 

And that's how the pair ended up in a tickling match till sunrise. It only ended because Donghyuck was being too loud and he was a tiny bit afraid of being caught.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> watching frozen together.

"inside my reddened heart burns up and makes me dance."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
La Vie En Rose  
IZ*ONE  
1:05 ───|────── 3:39  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
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ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
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Meanwhile...

"Here is my humble abode." Taeyong said as he opened his door quickly, Ten standing in awe behind him. The pair entered the apartment, making sure nobody was watching just in case. You can never be too careful.

"Woah... It's so pretty..." Ten mumbled quietly, looking around with wide eyes and an open jaw. The apartment was luxurious inside, in contrast to the slightly beat-down look of the exterior. "How did you afford a place like this?"

"Oh you know, we raised for a while and stuff." Taeyong dismissed, grabbing some snacks from the kitchen. It was odd to Ten how the other skimmed over it so quickly, but he didn't question.

"We?"

"Yeah, I live with Mark." He said, carrying the snacks to the couch before plopping all the food onto the small coffee table. "Anyway, we can watch a movie." 

Ten smiled to himself and sat on the couch, laughing lightly as he watched Taeyong struggle to carry the abundance of food. Taeyong just glared at him.

"You could help."

"But i don't want to."

Taeyong ignored Ten sat down next to him, then turned on the TV, immediately opting for Frozen. Ten would've chosen the same; soulmate things right there.

The younger grinned excitedly. "Oh my god, I adore this movie." He giggled with a hint of happiness in his voice. Taeyong couldn't help but smile at the bright sound.

"I'm glad, me too. This movie was a cultural reset. We weren't ready for Elsa." Taeyong laughed gently, opening the packet of haribos for the both of them. They happened to be Ten's favourite flavour; soulmate things again.

"That it was. That it was." Ten said like some old wise man, shutting up as the movie began, only moving to reach for the haribos.

As the movie progressed, somehow the two males had managed to inch closer to each other, to the point where Taeyong was basically laying on Ten's chest. It was dangerous for Ten, since maybe Taeyong wasn't gay and instead very homophobic, which meant certain death.

But he couldn't help it, Taeyong was so fluffy and adorable to him, he couldn't not cuddle him in that moment. He honestly just wanted to put the smaller boy in his pokcte. The fear nibbling at Ten subsided after a while, all he could focus on was Taeyong and Elsa. 

Both were super pretty, in his opinion.

After the movie reached halfway, Taeyong abruptly sat up, startling poor Ten who was easily scared. "We should order some pizza or something. These snacks hardly count as a meal." He said with a soft laugh, as if they hadn't just been cuddling. 

"O-oh yeah!" Ten said, cursing himself for stuttering. Talk about embarrassing. Thankfully, Taeyong seemed not to notice, instead he ordered three pizzas for the pair. Clearly the older wasn't as affected by the very gay actions they'd just committed. Clearly he was gay too- 

Ten shook the thoughts out of his head. Best not to get his hopes up, especially in this society.

The pizza arrived very quickly, Ten making sure to hide himself from the pizza girl to avoid suspicion. Well, maybe the three huge pizzas they'd ordered were suspicious enough.

They ate the pizza in complete silence, too busy fighting one another for slices of it to make any conversation. Unlike Markhyuck, they didn't end up arguing about who ate more though.

Once the pizzas were finished, they sat back on the couch to watch the movie. And perhaps cuddle too.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The movie was almost at its end, and Taeyong honestly felt like punching Ten despite how cute he was. The boy wouldn't shut up the whole way through, choosing to comment on every tiny thing; and sure, it was adorable but also extremely annoying. 

"How come Anna unfroze? I don't get it. There was no true love's kiss. Why'd she unfreeze? It literally makes no sense from a storytelling standpoint. With a hug like that she'd probably melt." Ten said, frowning as he ate more food. 

Taeyong shut the voice of Ten out and closed his eyes. Any hope of sleep was gone howeverer as Ten huffed in annoyance at the movie, commenting on it yet again.

"See, why did Elsa end up alone? She totally deserved a gi- BOYfriend." Ten said, quickly correcting himself to stay safe. That was a very close call, Ten wanted to punch himself for being so reckless.

He looked down at Taeyong to see if he noticed, smiling softly to himself when he noticed Taeyong was asleep. He was safe, plus Taeyong looked absolutely adorable.

He picked the boy up and carried him to his room, tucking him in. Ten couldn't help himself, leaning in and giving Taeyong a soft kiss on the forehead before cleaning up and leaving slowly to not get caught by the neighbours before they woke up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> two people realise their feelings.

"I want to see you again and again, I want to hold you in my arms."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
159cm  
Tenny  
1:05 ───|────── 3:41  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
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┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
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a week later

"...and that's how Hyuck ended up pantsing his crush in second grade!!" 

A loud chorus of laughter erupted from the four boys in the room as Ten finished telling the embarrassing story of Donghyuck's second grade crush. Donghyuck was bright red from the embarrassment and he wanted to murder Ten for telling that story in front of his crush.

They were sitting on the floor of the dance studio, the clock showing that it was 4:00am. They still had about an hour of two left. Donghyuck was basically sprawled over Mark's lap, while Taeyong just rested his head on Ten's shoulder.

The four were basically on a double date, much like they had been for the past week along with their separate hangouts, or dates as they were more often called. None of them dared to call it that in front of one another, though. 

Every night without fail, meeting in the dance studio; dancing together then talking until sunrise. Something they all looked forward to.

It was a nice routine they'd established at this point, and all of them had to admit that despite the tiredness they felt in the morning, those nights were the best things that had happened to them in a while. They'd never been happier.

"Hey! He happened to be there while I fell and I accidentally pulled his pants down too!" Hyuck yelled and crossed his arms in embarrassment as he explained the situation in more detail.

Maybe too much detail.

A hush fell over the room, Donghyuck instantly realising his possibly fatal mistake. Great, this was it. This was the end.

"He?" Mark asked, his face completely blank. "You're gay?" He asked immediately after as if that was a casual question and the boy hadn't just accidentally outed himself.

"I-I..." Hyuck began, but he didn't know what to say to save himself from this situation. He didn't want to be arrested and possibly killed, but his throat completely closed up. Nobody dared to speak a word, not even Ten who was the blabbermouth of the group.

Both Mark and Taeyong burst out into laughter after giving each other a glance. "Don't worry, we're gay too." Both Ten and Donghyuck breathed the biggest sigh of relief, laughing along with the two brothers. 

A light-hearted atmosphere filled the room again after the tense conversation they'd just undergone, and nobody was more thankful than Donghyuck at that moment.

"You know, that's not nearly as bad as the time that Taeyong pulled his crush's hair, except it wasn't his crush and it was actually a complete stranger!!" Mark said, the previous conversation left in the past thankfully as a new embarrassing story was exposed.

The room erupted into laughter for the tenth time that night while they shared more personal anecdotes with one another. Nobody had ever been happier.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Come on, lets dance again." Taeyong said and got up, Mark joining him. The other two shook their heads in unison and stayed sitting. They were wiped out from the past couple hours, and they could honestly pass out.

Now Donghyuck was laying down on Ten's lap like they enjoyed doing. It was never romantic, always platonic; though people didn't understand that so they kept it secret.

Plus, they had about half an hour left before they had to leave seperately.

"I'm way too tired. Plus, I want to watch you dance." Ten said, Hyuck nodding in agreement with his best friend. Mark shrugged and turned on the music, getting into position to dance with his brother.

They started dancing again, allowing their bodies to flow with the music without another care in the world. The two forgot about Ten and Hyuck watching them, their minds empty of any fear or embarrassment. 

Ten and Donghyuck both stared at them, amazed by their dancing that could easily be passed off as professional despite them never mentioning their talents. After what felt like hours of admiring them, Ten gently nudged the younger and looked at him while smiling.

"They're real keepers." He whispered quietly, the boy simply nodding in agreement. 

The best friends gave each other a knowing look. They knew. They knew they'd fallen for the two handsome men dancing in front of them, and it was exciting.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they meet again.

"under the moonlight, it's our own world."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Dance The Night Away  
TWICE  
1:05 ───|────── 3:01  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

a week later

Over the past week, Donghyuck could feel himself falling more in love with Mark. The boy was very in touch with his emotions, and he knew instantly that he liked Mark.

It was hard to act normal around the older during their night dates, but at least the dimmed lights allowed Donghyuck to blush without experiencing the embarrassment if Mark were to notice.

Donghyuck had never actually been in love and he was enjoying the feeling so far, I mean, what was there not to love? Mark was the perfect guy and Donghyuck knew he could never love someone more.

He was currently working his day job in a cafe, serving customers. He couldn't concentrate however, his thoughts filled with the handsome boy who'd run into his dance practice three weeks before, and consequently he happened to get a lot of complaints.

"Hi there, welcome to Sunshine Cafe, what would you li-" Donghyuck looked up at the customer, his eyes widening slightly when he saw Mark smiling down at him. He couldn't give himself away, so he kept talking as if he didn't want to smash his lips against Mark's.

"What would you like?" He asked again, trying not to laugh. It was hard, considering Mark was giving him the weirdest look hed ever seen.

"An espresso please." Mark said casually, also hiding his giggles when he saw the younger boy so surprised, it was adorable to him.

"Right away sir." Donghyuck said and quickly made Mark's order, handing the cup to him. Mark gave him the money, along with a tiny note and some extra tips.

Donghyuck put the note in his pocket and smiled softly at Mark, going back to work. At the end of his very busy shift throughout which he couldn't even concentrate, he opened the note to himself in the backroom.

'Meet me at the beach at 2am. Bring a change of clothes. -Mark'

Donghyuck grinned and shoved the note away, going back home to get ready for his outing with Mark. He was both nervous and excited, and he couldn't help the blush that rose onto his cheeks as he thought of them kissing in plain sight at midnight.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Like Mark asked, Donghyuck arrived at the beach just past 2am. A small smile arose on Mark's lips seeing the boy, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the ocean. 

"Come closer." Mark said, adding a wink, making poor Hyuck as flustered as one can be.

He slowly walked closer to Mark, who hooked his arm around the boy's waist and smirked down at him. At this point Donghyuck was basically a tomato, trying not to scream at the older's actions.

Mark slowly leaned in, as if to kiss Donghyuck. "W-what are you doing..." Hyuck whispered, his heart beating faster than ever before and his embarrassing stutter only flustering him more.

"This." Mark said lowly and leaned in even more, their lips centimetres apart. Time froze as Donghyuck stared into Mark's eyes, who was smirking slyly.

He then suddenly picked Donghyuck up, throwing him into the freezing ocean with no remorse.

Hyuck screamed as his body hit the water and he sunk like a rock, slowly resurfacing after what seemed like an eternity. He glared at Mark once he'd wiped the seawater out of his eyes, who just could not stop laughing. 

He jumped onto Mark's back and pulled him down, laughing in return.

"Now that's what you get. Karma." He said victoriously, beginning to running away as fast as possible from Mark who was clearly hell bent on revenge.

"Come here Hyuckie!!" He yelled and chased after him, eventually tackling him to the sand. The younger ended up beneath Mark, yet again becoming a blushing mess due to their provocative position. Thank god for the dark night concealing him and his blushing face, or Mark would've probably teased him.

Mark stared down at Donghyuck, who was fighting the urge to pull him down for a kiss. He slowly leaned down, until their lips were millimetres apart, closer than the last time they almost kissed.

The younger felt himself about to press his lips against Mark's. He couldn't help it; they looked so enticing.

At this moment, Hyuck snapped out of it. It was dangerous. Someone could see. They could get arrested. They could die- no, they would die.

"We should go." He whispered as he tore his eyes away from the scene, Mark nodding in agreement. Mark could feel the younger's breath on his lips, and that's when he realised the dangerous situation they were in.

The two got up quickly and made their way back to their respective homes, both way too flustered to say anything to each other. They had no idea how they'd face each other the following night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they meet again too.

"I'm a lose who loves you, yes I'm a misery."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Shine  
PENTAGON  
1:05 ───|────── 3:19  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

Meanwhile...

Ten was busy at his shift at the cinema, trying to satisfy all their customers. He was annoyed with the constant complaints; the popcorn was too salty, the drink too warm, too cold, too spicy... But he shut them out, instead choosing to think of a certain beautiful pink-haired boy. Much like Donghyuck, he already knew he liked Taeyong, but he knew it was impossible to start a relationship here. It was tempting death.

Nevertheless, Ten was absolutely smitten. What wasn't there to like about Taeyong? To stop himself from being tempted to date the boy, Ten tried to think of reasons he wouldn't like the older, but he came up short. He shook his head; it was illegal. He would die. 

As if it was fate, Ten looked up to meet eyes with the pretty boy he was falling in love with. "H-hi!" He said quickly, his smile fading as he caught sight of the blonde bimbo next to Taeyong. He didn't like assuming, but they certainly didn't look like siblings.

"Hey. Can we get some popcorn?" Taeyong asked as if he didn't know Ten at all. Maybe the tone of Taeyong's voice hurt the younger's heart a tiny bit; it was cold and unwelcoming, unlike the sweet voice he was used to. 

Okay, it hurt a lot.

"Of course, right away." Ten said in his "fake customer service voice" as Donghyuck called it and handed the 'couple' their popcorn, trying to keep a smile on his face as hard as it was. As Taeyong handed him the money, he also gave him a tiny bit of paper, then walked away with the girl he was holding onto.

Ten opened the paper once his shift finished, smiling as he read it over. He shouldn't get his hopes up again, look what happened just now, but that was the last thing on his mind as he read what Taeyong had written over and over again.

'Come to the junkyard behind the dance studio at 2am. Can't wait to see u! -Yongie x' 

Ten stuffed the note in his pocket and ran home to get some sleep before he met up with his crush, as unreal as it seemed.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

As promised, Ten made his way over to Taeyong who was standing by the entrance to the junkyard. It was completely black, no lights at all so Ten couldn't admire Taeyong's face.

"Hey babe, ready to go in?" He asked, casually calling him 'babe' as if that didn't make Ten's heart beat so much faster than it already was.

"Y-yeah!" He stuttered, feeling a blush creep its way onto his cheeks at the pet name. "What're we even gonna do here?" Ten asked, looking around as they started walking in. Not that there was much to look at.

"Shh, you'll see." Taeyong said simply and reached for the boy's hand, making sure he wouldn't lose him. He brought the younger over to the back, making sure they were hidden from sight by a random wall of garbage that was there.

Taeyong grabbed a vase and put it on a stool. He then picked up an old bat and handed it to Ten, who looked extremely confused. "Smash it." He said quietly, smiling a little at Ten's confused face.

Ten looked around. They were the only people there. He smiled back at Taeyong then swung as hard as he possibly could at the vase. 

Taeyong burst into laughter since Ten had completely missed the vase, and instead threw the bat far into the distance. Ten joined in on the laughing, falling into Taeyong's arms from the force of his hit. The pair stumbled around in their hug while laughing. It was adorable.

"By the way... I was forced to go out with that girl." Taeyong randomly said out of nowhere.

"Okay... Why did you tell me thus?" Ten asked, a smile appearing on his lips. So it wasn't his girlfriend.

"Cause I didn't want you thinking I liked her."

"Why?" 

Taeyong stayed silent. He leaned in slowly, until their foreheads were touching. Ten's arms made their way around Taeyong's neck as he pulled the older closer. Ten closed his eyes, leaning in also. Their lips were less than an inch apart, almost touching...

"Hey what're you doing?!" Came the voice of an old man not far from them.

Taeyong's eyes opened instantly in alarm, looking in the direction of the voice to find a figure running towards them. He smiled down at Ten, then whispered something very quietly.

"Run."

He grabbed his hand and started running. 

They both ran, trying not to laugh, until they lost whoever that was. Running together, free in the night, their wind whipping through their hair. Ten couldn't describe the feeling; it was so... freeing.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow night?" Ten said quietly once they were far away in an alley, ruffling Taeyong's hair.

"Yes you will. See you round, babe." Taeyong said with a wink and walked off, leaving a flustered Ten to register what had just happened.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stuff.... happens.

"I wish love was perfect as love itself, I wish all my weaknesses could be hidden."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Fake Love   
BTS  
1:05 ───|────── 4:02  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

the next day

It was night yet again, and Mark and Donghyuck were sitting on the floor of an otherwise empty dance studio. After the previous night's intimate encounter, both of them felt way too awkward to even speak to each other, and god knows where Taeyong and Ten were and what they were doing.

"I'm so-"

"Can you help me-"

The two stared at each other, bursting into laughter again. "You go first, clearly you have something important to ask." Mark said softly, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as the awkward atmosphere returned.

"So... I need to record a dance video. You know the routine we did two weeks ago?" Donghyuck began, Mark nodding at the memory. 

The dance routine was fairly short but very sexual, and it was hard to control himself around the younger. He distinctly remembered the ending position, him holding Donghyuck as if they were about to kiss.

"Could you perform it with me? I know a good spot... Please?" He asked shyly. It was a lot to ask of Mark, especially since the place was a public spot and anything could happen, anyone could see.

"Of course! Let's go now." Mark said with no hesitation and stood up, reaching his hand out to pull Donghyuck up, who gladly took it. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Meanwhile, Ten was over at Taeyong's again, this time for Frozen 2. The snacks were ready, the pizza was ready, but Taeyong was not. He couldn't stop thinking about their almost kiss. It was so dangerous, but it felt so right. 

Ten knocked on the door shyly, already blushing at the memories of last night. He knew Taeyong was probably just in the moment, but he wanted to kiss him so badly anyway. Could he put Taeyong in that danger though? Knowing that the police might kill them at any given moment? 

Taeyong opened the door, startling Ten out of his thoughts. Both boys just stared at each other with a shy smile as the memories of the last night flooded their minds again. "Come on in." Taeyong stepped to the side, shutting the door once Ten was inside. They sat on the couch and without a word, Taeyong put on the movie. 

Ten forgot all about danger, and pulled Taeyong to his chest to cuddle him again. The older obviously had no objections, smiling to himself as Ten wrapped his arms around him. Yeah, this was definitely right.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Donghyuck held Mark's hand as they trekked up a path to a hilltop, humming to himself. Considering it was completely dark and tall trees blocked any moonlight entering the path, Mark was absolutely terrified. 

"Hyuckie, where on earth are we going?" Mark asked, a little scared that the younger would kill him.

"I used to come to this hill with my grandma all the time... We sat here all night talking about things. She was the only person who accepted me, until she passed away last year." Donghyuck said quietly, tears flooding his eyes by the time he finished talking. His grandma meant so much to him, and he felt he could trust Mark.

"I've never taken anyone here before. Not even Ten. Consider yourself very lucky." He mumbled, sniffling slightly as they got to the top. Mark's heart broke for the boy, but he was also happy that he came above Ten in something. It was petty but he couldn't help it.

Mark nodded gently, squeezing Donghyuck's hand as a sign of support. "I'm very honoured."

"Shush... Anyway, let's record the video!" Hyuck quickly said, not wanting to remain on the topic. He couldn't help but feel emotional, his grandma meant so much to him and simply talking about her was painful.

Mark smiled and helped set the camera up. "Alrighty. Ready?" He whispered in Hyuck's ear once they were in position.

Donghyuck nodded with a soft blush from the erotic whisper, and they began dancing. 

They finished in the same pose, their lips millimetres apart, much like the previous night. But this time, Mark didn't hesitate to smash his lips onto the boy's. 

Donghyuck widened his eyes, but he kissed back. Any fear or doubts were gone from his mind, all that was on his mind at that moment was Mark. He would gladly get caught and killed if he could kiss the older boy one last time.

Slowly, they pulled away, breathing slightly heavier. "Does this make you my boyfriend yet?" Mark whispered, their lips practically still touching.

"If you want me to be." Donghyuck whispered back, smiling a little.

"I definitely do." Mark said and kissed the boy again, not wanting to ever stop.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was halfway through the movie and Taeyong was about to punch Ten. Yes he was cute, but the constant comments were annoying him to the bone. They'd gotten through the pizzas and most of their snacks already, yet there was not one moment where Ten wasn't talking.

Taeyong looked up at the boy, who was complaining about the plot of the movie. God did he want the boy to shut his hot mouth. 

No amount of shoving crisps into Ten's mouth stopped him from talking. They were nearing the end and Taeyong genuinely wanted to shoot himself. If the author hasn't said so already, Ten did not shut up.

There was no way to shut Ten up. He just kept rambling and rambling... Taeyong found it adorable but also so incredibly annoying. 

He stared at Ten, then gained the courage to lean up and smash his lips against Ten's. "Just shut the fuck up." He mumbled once he pulled away, his eyes remaining closed. 

The pair sat in silence, their foreheads still touching. Their soft breathing was the only sound they could hear, the ending of Frozen 2 non-existent. All they could hear and think about was each other. They kissed. Finally. And it was better than any of them could have imagined.

After some minutes that felt like years, Ten wrapped his arms around Taeyong's waist and kissed him again. 

No other words were exchanged for hours, they were too busy kissing to speak. As the sun rose, they realised that they had completely forgotten about everything, including the movie, which was long over.

Taeyong finally sat up, his hair a mess and his lips swollen from kissing for so long. "Be the Juliet to my Romeo?" He said with a goofy smile.

"I swear I must've been Mother Teresa in my past life to deserve someone like you." Ten said and nodded, pulling Taeyong in to kiss him again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> more stuff happens.

"it's a good day, even if we don't say a single word."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
THANK U  
ATEEZ  
1:05 ───|────── 3:21  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

two weeks later 

"Hey guys, can I talk to you?"

Ten and Donghyuck were, for once, by themselves. They had both been busy with their respective boyfriends for the past two weeks, but now they finally had time to catch up with each other. They had to admit; they missed being just by themselves.

After about two hours, Doyoung, the owner of the studio, poked his head in and asked to talk to them. The man was very close to them, since he had been supporting them financially for about two years now, and had pulled them out of debt. Plus he gave them a safe space to dance. He himself was gay, but he wasn't out to anyone, not even them. He knew not to risk it, even with people he trusted.

Doyoung walked in and shut the door behind him. He took a deep breath in and then looked up sadly at the pair of exhausted boys. Ten frowned at his nervous expression, sensing something was wrong. "What is it..." 

"Listen. I know that you guys need financial help, but money has been running short for me. I don't get as many people coming here anymore, and I can't afford to keep helping you guys. I'm so sorry... I'm sure you can find someone else. I really wish I could still help you guys, but I simply can't afford to anymore. You can still stay and use the dance studio if you'd like, though." Doyoung said, tearing up by the end. It hurt his heart to have to stop helping them, but he had no other choice.

Ten stayed silent, but Donghyuck looked like he was about to explode. 

"What?! You promised you'd help us!! You know we can't afford to stay afloat without your help!! Do you want us to become homeless?! Are you that selfish?!" Donghyuck yelled, tears beginning to run down his face. 

"Hyuckie no-"

"You don't get to call me that!! You promised you'd help us!! How can you abandon us like this?!" He cried, Ten still not saying anything. He knew they'd have to stop relying on Doyoung eventually anyway, and Donghyuck was being selfish now, but it still hurt.

"I'm not abandoning you! Please understand where I'm coming from here!" Doyoung pleaded, trying to hold Donghyuck's hand. The boy was like a son to him; he didn't want to lose him.

"Don't touch me." He said coldly, pulling his hand away and stepping back.

"Hyuck. Don't be like this. We can't rely on him forever." Ten said softly and wiped Donghyuck's eyes. 

"What about that boy in your attic, huh?" Donghyuck spat, crossing his arms. The sadness had morphed into anger now, and an angry Donghyuck was a dangerous Donghyuck.

"He's being chased by the police! I have to hide him! Please you have to understand!" Doyoung said, looking at the floor in guilt. 

"He's bisexual, he won't be killed!" Donghyuck said, shoving Doyoung lightly. 

"Hyuckie stop this. It's not fair. We can work extra jobs, Doyoung shouldn't have to fall into debt just because we can't handle our finances. And we cant prioritise our lives over his. That's selfish." Ten said sternly. He was not putting up with his best friend's bullshit.

"Fuck off. I don't ever want to see you again." Donghyuck said quietly, pushing past Doyoung and going back to his apartment.

Ten sighed and hugged Doyoung. "I'll talk to him. Don't be sorry, okay? He's being selfish and irrational. Thank you so much for supporting us until now. I love you, see you round." He said then walked out, leaving Doyoung to his thoughts.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Doyoung walked through his front door and collapsed instantly, sobbing loudly. He'd just lost some of his closest friends; someone he'd considered a son. He was heartbroken and alone.

The boy he'd been hiding in his attic ran down and hugged him tightly as soon as he heard the crying. 

"Did it go badly?"

Doyoung just nodded in response.

"I'm sorry. I can leave if you want." He said, making Doyoung shake his head. 

"No. Taeil, you're being hunted by the police. Whether they like it or not, you're my priority. Plus, you're my boyfriend too. You're more important. This was bound to happen eventually." He said, sniffling a little.

Taeil smiled gently and kissed Doyoung, grateful that he'd saved him from being arrested five months ago. And despite everything, there was no place either of them would rather be.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they perhaps live together?

"the stars from the sky, i don't want anything else."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Pporappippam  
Sunmi  
1:05 ───|────── 3:27  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

A month had passed since that day, and as promised, Donghyuck had not spoken a word to Doyoung, nor had he returned to the dance studio. Admittedly he felt bad for how he'd handled the situation, but he was too much of a brat to admit his mistakes so he kept to his word.

He knew he was in the wrong but there was nothing he could really do. He had too much pride.

Both couples had kept up their night dates, but they were significantly shorter since Ten and Donghyuck had now both taken on night jobs too. The two younger boys were both completely wiped out, but they had no other option, other than become homeless.

Their landlord wasn't any nicer, demanding rent from them each month. The younger of the two even contemplated sleeping with him just to relieve their debt for a month.

Ten admitted to Taeyong that the stress of their money problems was getting to them. Donghyuck would frequently get nose bleeds, and Ten himself could only sleep while he was crying. But the looming threat of homelessness kept them going.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Hyuck was supposed to be asleep, but he was currently crying to Taeyong in the older's apartment. They'd never really gotten close or spoke for any particular reason, but since Taeyong was his best friend's boyfriend, he felt safe enough to cry in his arms anyway.

"I-It hurts so much to watch Ten go through this... H-he's always shaking and bleeding... I-I wish I could do something you know? I-I feel useless. He does so much more than me." Donghyuck cried, his broken voice barely above a whisper.

"Move in with us." Taeyong said out of the blue. He was extremely worried for his boyfriend's health now that Donghyuck had revealed this, and he'd love to have Ten next to him everyday.

"What?" The younger whispered as he looked up at Taeyong.

"Move in with us. Mark definitely won't mind, and you can spend more time with each other. I know you need to work but I really miss Ten, and Mark misses you. We have more than enough money, and you guys can relax a bit so you won't be as stressed." He said and held Donghyuck's hands in his own. 

Although they weren't close, he felt a special bond to the youngest of the four; like a father-son situation. Except he hoped Donghyuck would be his step-brother instead.

"What?! No!! I can't put that burden on you. It's not fair." Donghyuck said and shook his head. And he knew Ten would agree; moving in with them was out of the equation.

"Please. At least consider it. It's killing both me and Mark to watch you two struggle so much... Please." The older begged. 

Donghyuck realised that they'd both been neglecting their boyfriends recently. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea.

"Are you sure it won't be dangerous? Are you sure you're financially stable?" 

"One hundred percent. Don't worry about money." 

Hyuck sighed and closed his eyes. "Alright, fine. Thank you so so much Tae..."

"What for? I'm just helping out a human in need, it's what any decent person would do." He said simply and shrugged his shoulders.

"For helping us out." Donghyuck said and made his way to the door, turning around with a soft smile on his face. "And for taking care of Ten. I've never seen him so happy." 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Thank you so much for this, seriously Yongie." Ten mumbled as he carried his bags into his new apartment. The prospect of living with his boyfriend was both exciting and terrifying; the risk of getting caught was so much greater now, but he had to admit that he was excited to see the boy he loved every day.

Donghyuck smiled and set his bags inside. "That's seconded. Honestly, we're so grateful for this. Thank you. We don't know what we would do without-"

"Oh god stop thanking me! Anyway, we only have two rooms, so Ten you'll be with me and Hyuck you'll be with Mark okay? If you're uncomfortable with that, we can take the couch." Taeyong said and carried their bags to their respective rooms.

"Make yourselves at home, feel free to unpack all of your things." Mark said and wrapped his arms around Donghyuck possessively,

Ten smiled knowingly at Taeyong. "Young love." He mumbled.

"You're literally like a year older." 

Taeyong laughed and pulled Ten up to his room, Mark and Donghyuck already disappearing to their own rooms to do god knows what.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Donghyuck woke up to the feeling of wet kisses on his neck. He opened his eyes slowly, turning around to see Mark kissing his neck gently and romantically.

"Mornin'." Mark mumbled. Hyuck didn't even say anything, he just admired how flawless Mark managed to look in the morning. And as Donghyuck was appreciating the seventh wonder of the world (in his eyes), Mark laughed gently. His laugh could easily fill the heavens, Hyuck decided at that moment.

Maybe living together wouldn't be as bad as he'd feared it would be.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ten gets brave.

"I want you to be ruined, I won't hold you."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
HANN (Alone)  
(G)I-DLE  
1:05 ───|────── 3:27  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

Ten was never poor. His parents were moderately rich, so he was always well off. His childhood itself was like a chapter from a children's book, he always had a lot of friends and his parents always had time for him. There was nothing to complain about from an outsider's point of view.

Right when he reached the age of 14, he realised he was gay, and he took it extremely hard. His parents constantly reminded him of their homophobia, and when asked why he didn't have a girlfriend, he simply played it off with a: 'I don't want a relationship yet.'

And it worked.

It only got worse when Ten watched the entire school bully the only out gay kid. It broke his heart and formed a deep void in his brain called internalised homophobia. Now, when he looks back on that situation, he wished he had done something to help. But being the naive kid he was, he just watched.

Ten wouldn't allow himself to have a crush, he knew it'd just bring along trouble and heartbreak that he didn't need or want. So despite the constant nagging from his parents, his young teen years went by fairly smoothly.

The boy remembered the day he'd turned 18 very clearly. It had been a great day right from the beginning; he'd celebrated with his big group of friends by getting very drunk at a house party another kid was having for the first time.

As soon as he got home, now almost completely sober, his parents were waiting for him in the living room, along with a girl about his age sitting opposite them. She was conventionally pretty, but Ten wasn't attracted to her at all.

He was already suspecting what they were about to say; but it still shocked him.

"Ten, darling, sit down." His mother said, and Ten did so. He stared at the girl in confusion. 

"Who's that?" He asked, looking back towards his parents.

"That's Kim Eunbin. She's your fiancé."

A forced marriage. Why? Something to do with joining companies and whatnot; Ten could barely listen. Of course it was for financial gain, who cared about his happiness? 

That night, Ten realised all he was to them was a heir. He had enough of everything, so he ran away. That night, Ten realised his parents never actually loved him. That night, Ten left. 

He caught a bus to the other side of the country, where he met Donghyuck at a homeless shelter and ended up living with him. Both of them had ran away, so they understood each other. Their only difference was that Ten could always go back and get some money from his parents if they desperately needed some, but Hyuck was completely on his own from that moment.

Ten knew they needed to run away again, it just wasn't safe for them in Korea anymore (not that it ever was). So he called in sick to work and took the bus back to his parents' house, ready to sacrifice his own safety to keep Donghyuck safe from the world.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

By the time Ten arrived at his childhood home, it was around 4am and obviously there was nobody around to catch him breaking in. He pulled out the spare key he'd kept all those years ago from under the pile of bricks and used it to open the window to his room. The boy slowly crawled in, careful not to make a sound, and looked around the dark room with his phone flashlight.

Nothing had changed. He doubted they even noticed his disappearance until the wedding.

He tip-toed over to his old desk drawers, pulling out a book. On the last page, there was a tiny key stuck to the page, which in turn opened the music box on his shelf. Inside the music box, was an envelope filled with money he could use. 

Ten put the money into his bag and ran back to the window, accidentally tripping on a small table and consequently falling onto the floor face-first. If the running footsteps didn't wake his parents, the loud thud of his body making out with the floor definitely did.

"Who's there?!" Came the voice of his parents. The door slammed open, expecting an intruder, and there they stood in shock and surprise at the sight in front of them.

"Ten?" His mother said, his father holding onto a baseball bat tightly.

"Uhh... Hey mom. Bye mom!" Ten said in panic and tried to crawl out of the window.

"Where have you been?" His father asked, but neither of the adults looked too affected by their son's disappearance in any way.

"Getting a new life, away from you and your forced marriages." Ten spat, glaring at his parents.

"Please, you won't last any longer." His dad said with a victorious smirk. "You came back for money, soon you'll be back for a home again. You're still that same scared kid on the inside, Ten."

"No. This money is to move to America, with my boyfriend." Ten said, emphasising the boyfriend part, before jumping out of his window and running into the night, not seeing the horrified look on his parent's faces.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> arguments and pillow fights.

"will we meet at the end of this road? did we miss each other in this maze?"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
I Just  
Red Velvet  
1:05 ───|────── 3:08  
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▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
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About a month later, the two couples were gathered in the apartment and watching a movie together. Donghyuck was laying on top of Mark, his arms wrapped around the older's neck. Mark was cuddling the boy as close as possible to him, his hands wrapped around Donghyuck's waist and resting right on his ass. 

Taeyong was seated on Ten's lap and watching the movie. Ten had his face buried in the crook of his boyfriend's neck, just enjoying his presence. Taeyong was basically draped right over his boyfriend but neither of them minded; in fact they loved the closeness.

The separate pairs exchanged flirty conversation, paying absolutely zero attention to the movie that was playing. That was until Donghyuck noticed the iconic starting lines and hushed everyone. 

"Shut up, it's starting and I want to hear the movie, not how beautiful Ten looks when he's asleep. Thank you."

The Taeten couple went bright red from the embarrassment and shut up instantly before the youngest exposed them more, paying attention to the movie now.

"According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

They were around halfway through the movie when Mark and Donghyuck learned Ten's annoying habit. However, they felt no desire to kiss Ten to shut him up, unlike a certain person in the room.

"So you're telling me that this bee can speak English? Why not any other language?" 

"Because the writers are English." One of them responded to the Thai boy, beginning to get pissed off.

And thankfully there was silence for a couple minutes. Maybe Ten had finally shut his mouth?

"I don't get it. What does he mean by bee law? Is that a thing?" Came that annoying voice again.

"Oh my god it's a fucking kids movie! Just shut your rotten pie-hole before i rip my arm off and beat you to death with it! Let me count how many times they say the word 'bee' in peace I am begging!" Donghyuck yelled, getting up just to be more intimidating.

"...'Aight. Calm your tits, sir." Ten mumbled and finally shut up.

It was beginning to get closer to the end of the movie and Donghyuck hadn't yet lost count.

'123, 124, 125-'

"Isn't this beastiality? And to think the public cares more about two men when there's a fucking woman and a bee being shown to kids. How do they have sex? Does he get hard?"

His thoughts were once again interrupted by a talking Ten, and boy was he mad. Now he'd actually lost count.

The room was filled with silence as Donghyuck slowly arose from Mark's lap and glared at Ten. Out of nowhere, he grabbed a pillow and whacked Ten over and over as hard as he could.

Ten screamed for his life and covered his face, reaching for a pillow to fight back. The other two brothers just sat on the couch and watched with humoured expressions as their boyfriends had the match of their lives.

Eventually Ten had the younger pinned to the ground as he got revenge for all the hits he had gotten earlier. 

Taeyong decided to join in. He grabbed a pillow and rather than siding with his boyfriend, he went on the side of the youngest and hit Ten with said pillow as much as he could. 

Mark also ended up joining in on the side of Ten to make things even, and the four giggled and screamed as the pillow fight raged on even as the next movie began playing.

They continued the pillow fight right up until a scream of pain was heard. It wasn't a joke scream either, whoever screamed was definitely in pain.

They all put down their pillows and turned to the youngest, who was holding his eye in pain while sniffling and on the verge of tears. 

"How on earth did you manage to hurt yourself with a pillow?" Make snorted, crossing his arms a little.

Ten glared at Mark and scoffed. "Insensitive prick. I thought you were his boyfriend, what are you, faking it?"

"You hit me with your zipper, jerk." Donghyuck whispered angrily and ran to the bathroom to sort his eye out.

"Now look what you did! You're such a piece of shit, you don't deserve Hyuck at all." Ten spat at the Canadian boy and ran after his best friend.

"You deserved that." Taeyong mumbled and sat on the couch. Mark rolled his eyes at his brother and started knocking on the bathroom door.

The door opened slowly to reveal his boyfriend in tears, and Mark swore his heart broke.

"I'm sorry for hitting you." The older said quietly and looked at the ground.

"I don't care that you hit me. Accidents happen. I'm upset that you made fun of me." He mumbled and shut the door again.

And with that, Mark wanted to break down crying. He couldn't lose Donghyuck. He had to make up with him.

In his panicked state, the older ran around and grabbed some flowers they had in a vase, then proceeded to knock on the door yet again.

"What is it Mark." Hyuck said as he opened the door, though it was more of a 'shut up and leave me alone' rather than an actual question as to what he was doing there.

"I'm so sorry for making fun of you. Even if you weren't my boyfriend, that's not right at all. I'm so sorry for hurting you both physically and emotionally, please forgive me." He rambled, avoiding Ten's piercing gaze that seemingly split his soul in half.

"I forgive you, idiot. It's not that serious anyway." Donghyuck laughed and pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss. 

Ten rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath, "you still don't deserve him," as he walked past back to Taeyong, who didn't look pleased to hear that at all.

Just as the other pair were about to kiss, there was a loud bang on the door.

"POLICE, OPEN UP!!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mark and haechan go somewhere.

"the cozy darkness is lingering far away, slowly coming."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Good Evening  
SHINee  
1:05 ───|────── 3:44  
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▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
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ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
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┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
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Everyone froze. That was something they dreaded to hear and prayed they never would. It most likely meant death.

Mark was the first to snap out of it, and he ran to open the door. The others acted as if they were just talking, Donghyuck tossing the flowers under the couch.

"What seems to be the problem, officers?" Mark asked, smiling politely to give off a good impression. He was literally fighting for their lives.

The other three stared at the police officers, trying to smile, as they held their breath. 

"We got reports of homosexual activity up here." The tallest cop said, crossing his arms sternly. 

Ten felt his heart stop as Mark acted confused. They really depended on Mark's acting at that moment, so safe to say that he had no hope and was expecting death at any moment.

"What? No! You must have the apartment wrong. We all have girlfriends, except my brother who's engaged. We'd never be homos." 

Donghyuck's heart hurt at the words. Yes, he knew it was all fake just to get the cops off their back, but it still hurt him deeply to hear Mark being homophobic.

The two cops looked around at the group. They shared an unreadable look with the Canadian, then nodded. 

"Sorry to disturb you. We'll be off now, goodnight gentlemen." And with that, they were gone.

A stunned silence filled the apartment as everyone took in what had just happened. 

"This is why we need to be more careful. No more yelling, understood? Our lives are on the line, we need to be more responsible." Taeyong lectured after a couple minutes and started to clean up the messy apartment from the now forgotten pillow fight. He wouldn't even look at Ten.

Everyone wordlessly nodded and helped clean up the apartment with shaky hands. Donghyuck couldn't even process the fear he had just felt, and he was beginning to realise that he could die like that at any moment.

He didn't want to die. Not without at least trying to achieve his dreams. 

Once the apartment was clean, the four stood there, staring at the ground.

"It's late, I'm going to bed." Taeyong mumbled and walked off to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him, causing the youngest to flinch at the bang.

Ten nodded and made his way up to the room. "Me too. See you guys tomorrow morning, stay safe."

They always said 'stay safe' to one another but now it held a whole new meaning; they all felt the weight of those words now. That day marked the day where they realised that death was quite literally right on their doorstep.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Mark started to walk to the room when he felt a hand tug on his wrist. 

"Wait. Can we go somewhere first?" Donghyuck asked quietly, looking at Mark with hopeful eyes.

Make wordlessly nodded and the pair walked out. Donghyuck took his boyfriend up to the hill where his grandmother died and where they first got together. 

Mark was mentally preparing himself for a sad talk, knowing this hill was very sentimental to his boyfriend, and he honestly wasn't ready.

Donghyuck sat down on the edge and stared out into the city landscape. Sky clear; stars visible; lights illuminating the view before them; everything set the scene for a heartfelt talk.

Mark sat down next to the younger and followed his gaze, almost gasping in awe of how beautiful the city was.

They sat in silence for a while, just appreciating the view before them. The silence was peaceful and fit the atmosphere.

"I have a dream."

"What is it, Martin Luther King?" Mark smiled as he turned to his boyfriend, curious to hear his speech. He got a soft punch on the arm and a giggle from Hyuck in response.

"Shut up. Let me be sentimental and emotional for once." He laughed as the atmosphere became sweet and love-filled.

"Hey, I let you be sentimental all the time! Don't act like I'm a sociopath." Mark whined as he pulled Hyuck in for a side hug.

"You kinda are sometimes, Markie." 

"Shut your adorable mouth and tell me all you dreams, Hyuckie."

"All of them?"

"Every last one."

"You wont get bored?"

"I could never get bored of you, my precious Hyuckie."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> late night talks.

"as if solving up the scattered pieces we are matching up our stories."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Puzzle Piece  
NCT DREAM  
1:05 ───|────── 3:47  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
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ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
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"I have a dream, Markie. That one day we will be able to go somewhere where we don't have to be ashamed of who we are. Somewhere where we don't have to hide. Somewhere where we don't have to lose sleep just so we can kiss. Somewhere where we can go on dates during the day and show our relationship off, 

"Somewhere where I can love you."

Silence.

"I want to go to America. I've applied for a scholarship to an American dance school... Both me and Ten have. If I get it, we can move there and be happy,

"We can love each other."

More silence.

"We can buy a small cottage and be those cringey cottagecore tiktok boyfriends in the woods. Oh! We can collect little flowers and make flower fairy lights that we can hang up in our room! And we can make dance videos in the woods outside of our little house. We can also collect mushrooms to put in baskets and hang around the outside of our house along with the flowers!

"We can decorate together."

A smile.

"We can go out on weekly dates, but also sometimes at night to keep up our tradition, you know? And we can go on a ferris wheel and it'll break when we're at the top... And we can have a romantic kiss when I panic from my fear of heights. We can dance together in the rain and then slowly kiss each other under a lamp. We can share a milkshake, or even better, some spaghetti,

"We can be proper boyfriends."

Silence.

"I can finally dance out in the open and share my passion with the world. I can travel to more places and teach others how to turn their sadness into art. I can dance without worrying about sleep deprivation, or the stupid fucking police everywhere. I can finally learn properly and find others with the same passion. I won't have to hide doing what i love anymore.

"I can dance."

"You will. I believe in you Hyuckie, whether it's with this scholarship or a different one, you will be able to do what you love out in the open. I promise you, I will give the world for you to be able to do that. Your future is so bright and I can't wait to witness it."

"You wanna know something?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't care."

"What?"

"I don't care if I'm in America. I don't care if we go on dates during the night or during the day. I don't care if we kiss on the ferris wheel or in the dance studio at 3am. As long as we're together, we can be anywhere."

"I love you.

"I love you too. More than you could ever know."

"You're so perfect, Hyuckie. I want to stare at your gorgeous face all night long."

"That's kinda creepy."

"Hey I was trying to be romantic!"

"Shh, I know. It's cute. You're adorable."

"Now you're being flirty? What happened to my flustered baby?"

"Oh shut it, let me pour my heart out to you sometimes."

"Fine, fine."

"But seriously, would you want to move to America with me?"

"I think you know I would love to, now give me a kiss."

"Gladly."

There was no other conversation exchanged that night, just cuddles and kisses along with soft giggles until it was late and they returned home to rest up before the next day.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they argue. and make up.

"it is not an end but a beginning, close to a world you've never seen before." 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Wakey-Wakey  
NCT127  
1:05 ───|────── 3:02  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
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ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
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┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
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Meanwhile, back in the apartment, Taeyong refused to talk to his boyfriend at all. The tension was palpable, and Ten wanted to address it whereas Taeyong just wanted to sleep.

"I'm going to sleep. See you tomorrow." He said coldly and laid down in their shared bed, hogging the duvet to be even more salty.

And quite frankly, Ten was annoyed.

"Why are you mad at me?" He asked and stood in front of the bed. He got no answer, which pissed him off even more.

"Taeyong!"

Even more silence.

"Fine. Be like that." He scoffed and walked out, heading down to the couch. How was he supposed to apologise and sort out their relationship if he didn't know what he was supposed to be apologising for? It made no sense. Taeyong was being a little stupid.

It hurt Ten more than he'd like to admit; Taeyong ignoring him. He was used to cuddles and kisses, not silence and emptiness. 

After about an hour of laying by himself, he couldn't do it anymore.

To him, relationships relied on communication, not ignoring one another until one of them snapped.

He gently knocked on the door to his boyfriend's room and walked in to see Taeyong awake and staring at his phone. 

"Hey, can we talk?"

He received a silence, but then again, he didn't mean it as a question.

"I get that you're mad at me. Please could you just tell me why? I want to apologise and learn from my mistakes." He said quietly and calmly, praying that Taeyong would talk to him.

But his prayers weren't answered as the older didn't even look up from his phone. Ten let out a soft sigh and got up, walking back to the door to spend the night on the couch.

"I'm mad that you insulted my brother."

And now Ten was mad too. "Insulted? Did you not see him make fun of my best friend- no scratch that, my brother, like that?"

"I did, but what you said was uncalled for. Despite what you think, Mark is a good guy."

"Definitely better than you, at least he can look up from his phone when we argue." Ten mumbled.

He instantly regretted the words as they left his mouth, but he couldn't help it. Taeyong could at least look at him while they were arguing, he felt like a second priority. It hurt more than the actual disagreement.

"Excuse me? If Mark is a better guy than me, go fucking date him." The older said and slammed his phone down, glaring at Ten.

"Seriously?! Look, Mark treats Hyuck like hes nothing. Donghyuck deserves so much better. That's the facts." Ten scoffed and crossed his arms.

"He loves that boy with his whole heart. Yes, he made a mistake, but that doesn't warrant you saying that when you have no insight of their relationship!"

"I have plenty to see that he's a dick. Hyuck trusts way too easily, but not me. He's a piece of shit." Ten said coldly.

"You're unbelievable. Remind me why I'm dating you again?!"

Now it was Ten's turn to be silent. Tears filled his eyes to the brim as the deafening silence said more than enough. 

"Ten.."

The Thai boy shook his head the second Taeyong opened his mouth and ran out of the apartment.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Ten ran to Doyoung, who let him in with no hesitation and listened to the boy sob on his couch. Taeil, the attic boy, was also listening intently.

"I know I was harsh on Mark but.. I've seen how many times Hyuckie gets hurt. He trusts so easily, and I'm so protective. I get such bad vibes from Mark... and it feels like his real personality came through when he made fun of him like that.

"Hyuck has been hurt so much, and if I can save him from being hurt again.. I would do it in a heartbeat. I wish Taeyong would understand that. 

"I guess I'm insecure. And it's one thing to be insecure, but when the one person you love suddenly confirms those insecurities... it's suffocating. I felt like I couldn't breathe, you know? I wish it wasnt this complicated, I wish I could believe that he actually loves me."

Doyoung and Taeil enveloped the boy in a hug, their hearts full of sympathy. It hurt them to see the situation, but thankfully mother Taeil knew what to say.

"Listen kiddo, when two people are angry at one another, they say things they don't mean. Didn't you say that Mark was better? But thats not true, is it? Exactly. What Taeyong said was most definitely very shitty, but he probably didn't mean it. However, he does need to apologise and reassure you, that's an explanation, not an excuse." He said softly and rubbed Ten's back.

"You're right.. I'm gonna go talk to him."

Doyoung nodded along and handed Ten some tissues. "Go get your man. Let us know what happens, okay?"

"Of course, mom." Ten giggled and sniffled as he got up and ran out before Doyoung could scold him for calling him 'mom'.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The second Ten stepped foot in the apartment, he was pulled into another hug. 

"Tennie I'm so sorry. I do love you, and I do need a reminder as to why I'm dating you."

Ten frowned at the last bit and pushed Taeyong away gently. 

"Great apology. Thanks." He mumbled and brushed past him to go to the bathroom and cry even more.

"Why am I dating you when you're so much better than me? When you would stop at nothing to get me to talk to you when I'm ignoring you? When you love me so much unconditionally and I can't prove to you that I love you just as much, no scratch that, even more?"

Ten turned back around and hugged his boyfriend again. He never forgave people easily, but he could feel the regret and emotion pouring out from the other. He somehow knew that Taeyong loved him.

"It's okay. It's okay, Yongie."

"No it's not, Ten I was so horrible to you."

"Listen, we all say things when we get mad. I'm sorry for insulting your brother, it's not fair when i barely know him."

"I'm sorry for not talking to you about it and instead ignoring you."

"I'm sorry for pestering you about it."

A small laugh came from them both as they sat on the floor of their apartment hugging each other until sunrise.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they fix things.

"the countless nights we shared, it makes me drunk"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Starry Night  
MAMAMOO  
1:05 ───|────── 3:31  
|◁ II ▷|

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The argument definitely left them feeling a little awkward around one another. Sure, they sorted it out, but the tension was still there and neither of them knew how to get rid of it.

Even Mark and Hyuck had noticed that something was up, but they didn't ask. It honestly wasn't their business.

Weeks passed and the tension was dissipating slowly. By now, Hyuck had enough of watching the couple try to ignore the tension. Something had to be done.

He pulled Ten aside one evening and slapped him around the face as hard as he could. 

"Ow! What was that for?!" Ten whined and rubbed his cheek since the slap hurt a lot. Donghyuck was deceptively strong.

"Get yourself together. Everyone can literally feel the tension between you and Taeyong. I don't know nor care what happened, but sort it out."

Ten stayed silent and thought about what the younger had said. 

"What should I do?" He asked quietly.

"Take him out. Not something ordinary, something special. And fix whatever happened. I miss going on double dates with you." Donghyuck said and smiled sadly at his best friend.

"Let's go on one then. I'm sure he mentioned at some point that he loves stargazing... maybe I could take him? But where?"

"I have a place you could take him. Me and Mark go there quite a lot... but it's very special to me okay?" Donghyuck said and looked at the floor. It did feel a little weird to take lots of people to a place that was private and sentimental to him, but it still felt right in a way. He only had negative memories of that hill, so maybe he could make some new positive ones.

"Of course Hyuckie. Thank you so much! Can you take Mark and Taeyong there in two hours? I want to set some stuff up." Ten asked.

"Yeah sure. Just go past the studio and into the forest, after about ten minutes you should see a tiny path to the right. Follow it until you come across a path on the left, then go up that one until you reach the top of the hill." He explained and patted Ten on the back.

"Thank you so much. I love you." Ten said and hugged his best friend tightly before running out to get ready to surprise his boyfriend.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Donghyuck brought the two brothers up the hill as promised. He was a little excited to see what Ten had prepared as he knew that the Thai boy was a hopeless romantic.

They got up to the top of the hill and they all let out a soft gasp when they saw what Ten had done.

There were blankets spread all over the floor along with lots of picnic baskets full of delicious food. Fairy lights hung loosely from the tall trees surrounding the area, and soft music was playing quietly from the small speaker that had been set up. The sky was completely clear; the night full of stars twinkling brightly in the moonlight.

"What's this?"

Taeyong was the first to break the stunned silence, looking around still until his eyes landed on his boyfriend.

Ten stepped forwards and handed Taeyong a bouquet of red roses; his favourite. 

"Baby I'm sorry. For our argument, for not trying to sort our relationship out, and for being awkward. Can we work this out? I really miss you darling."

Taeyong blushed a bright red colour and smiled brightly. "You idiot, of course we can sort it out. Come here and give me a kiss." 

Ten giggled lightly and kissed Taeyong lovingly, forgetting about the two staring people in front of them.

"God the pet names made me want to throw up, to be completely honest with you." Hyuck mumbled.

"Same." Mark laughed and wrapped his arms around Donghyuck's waist.

"Shut up." Ten said as he threw a rose at Hyuck's face.

"How romantic, thank you my one and only lovely baby." The youngest said dramatically as he dropped to his knees and hugged the rose.

The next hour was filled with laughter and teasing as they ate the food Ten prepared. Everything went back to normal, and the awkward tension was finally gone, to everyone's relief.

A comfortable silence fell upon the group as they laid down and stared at the sky. Donghyuck was nestled in his boyfriend's arms, whose hands were once again on his ass. To be honest, they always were.

Taeyong and Ten were just laying next to each other, not cuddling. Their hands were clasped in each other's, and that closeness felt appropriate and it was more than enough for them.

The stars were still shining bright, and the four just stared at them. In the chaos of their daily lives, they missed peaceful and quiet moments like this. The tranquility of their surroundings put them all at ease despite the dangers around them. Everything just seemed... okay.

"The stars are so pretty." Ten whispered randomly.

"Like you." Taeyong whispered back, which caused a loud groan to emerge from the other couple.

"God you two are so cheesy. I hate it." Mark giggled and gave Taeyong the middle finger.

So while they argued a lot, they all loved and cherished one another in different ways. It was their own little family, stargazing together, hand in hand.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they find something out.

"we met and became a memory that can't be erased. it was a commendable melodrama. a pretty good ending."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Love Scenario  
iKON  
1:05 ───|────── 3:30  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

It was on a random night the next month that Ten and Hyuck received some news that changed everything. 

Ten opened his emails casually, his legs resting on the sofa and his laptop seated on his lap, a blanket draped over him lazily.

'Dear Mr Leechaiyapornkul,

It is with great pleasure that we inform you that you have been accepted on a three-year scholarship to the American School of Dance. 

We look forward to seeing you this next semester.'

His heart jumped out of his chest and his eyes filled with tears; that was the best news he'd ever received. It meant all his hard work payed off, and more importantly, he could leave Korea and finally be out and proud with his boyfriend.

Just then, a loud scream came from Donghyuck's room that pulled Ten out of his thoughts.

"Ten! Get your ass in here!" Hyuck screeched and Ten, naturally a little afraid, ran into the room since he thought his best friend's life was in danger.

Donghyuck, like him, had his laptop open on his emails.

"Did you...?" Ten asked, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Did you?" Hyuck asked in return. 

Silence. Both of them held their breath. 

Suddenly both of them erupted into screams, jumping around and hugging each other like children. Happiness and excitement radiated from both of them as they realised their dreams were coming true. They weren't dreams anymore, they were the new reality.

"Three years! That means we only need about 60 thousand more won before we can officially move! I thought we'd get like a year!" Donghyuck laughed and kicked the air out of excitement.

"And have you seen the dorms? We better be roommates or I'll riot! They're so pretty and cozy!" Ten responded and pulled the younger into another hug.

"I'm so excited. I'm gonna get loads of extra shifts now, so we can buy plane tickets as soon as possible!" Hyuck screamed and grabbed his phone.

"Wait. Do we tell Mark and Yong?" Ten wondered, more to himself than anyone else. Donghyuck froze in his tracks and chewed on his lip.

"No. Let's surprise them with the plane tickets and the news overall, since they've already said they'll come with us to America whenever we can, so we don't have to worry about what day we leave. We can have another picnic on our hill!" He said after a short moment of silence, clapping his hands together like a character from a children's movie.

"You look like a seal when you do that, idiot." Ten laughed as he threw a pillow at Donghyuck's head.

"Don't. Last time someone got seriously hurt. Someone being me." The boy said.

"It wasn't even that serious, calm down seal boy." Ten grinned as he ran away, knowing imminent death was coming due to that nickname.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Three weeks later, Donghyuck was exiting the cafe in which he worked. The weekend was finally over, meaning he got his paycheck today.

He checked his bank account on the way home to see how much he had to work until they could leave. He'd been taking non-stop shifts, much like Ten, to earn enough money and leave for good.

Sure, it was exhausting, but their dream was dangling right in front of their eyes, and this was their only chance to start a new life. They'd worked their whole life, nights and days drowning in sweat, injuries they pushed through, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, dancers block, it all led up to this.

This was their only shot.

And it made them more motivated than they'd ever been.

This was their dream.

And nothing would keep them from their dream.

The entire world seemed to stop when Hyuck realised how much he had.

100,00 won.

That was more than enough. They had more than enough. They could buy the tickets. They could move to America. They could finally dance.

The boy burst into tears on the sidewalk and collapsed to his knees, forgetting the crowd of people around him.

It all paid off, now he could finally do what he'd always wanted to. 

Tears ran down his face as his head turned up to the sky. The boy laughed to himself. Quietly, then louder, and louder and louder...

Pure happiness. 

That was the feeling of pure happiness.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thick tension.

"past the playful eyes, I see you not knowing what to do."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Russian Roulette  
Red Velvet  
1:05 ───|────── 3:31  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

Twinkling fairy lights hung from the thin branch of the large willow tree on the hill, illuminating the pair of boys attempting to set up a cute picnic for their respective boyfriends.

"Do you think he'll be proud of me?" Ten said out of nowhere, staring at the lights that were loosely holding onto the branches. He had to admit, the whole area looked cute.

The small blanket on the ground, the flowers, the lights, the wooden basket full of small cupcakes decorated by Hyuck himself. Everything looked straight out of a movie. It was the perfect setting to begin their new future.

"Who, Taeyong?" Hyuck asked in return, stepping off the tiny step-stool they'd brought up there as he dusted his hands off to look at his best friend.

"No, the fucking Grinch." Ten snorted, ignoring the glare he got in response.

"Yes, Taeyong you idiot. What if he's disappointed? What if he stops loving me? What if he doesn't want to come to America?" He rambled, sliding down against the tree to crouch on the ground with his head secured safely in his hands.

"Are you crazy? That man loves you more than I love dancing to Red Velvet songs. He would give the whole universe for you, I've seen him try to do that on multiple occasions. Plus, if he's not willing to give things up for you, he's not worth it. Your dreams come first. Bros before hoes, except bros is actually your lifelong dream to study dance. Remember that, okay?"

A brief silence came over the two of them before Ten burst into soft giggles.

"Damn, you're so wise. What on Earth did Mark Lee do to you, my dumb little Hyuckie?" He joked, ruffling Donghyuck's hair.

"Dumb?! That's so rude. Our friendship is cancelled." Hyuck cried out dramatically and started to walk away.

"Hyuck no! Come back to me, senpai!" Ten cried out dramatically.

And as much as Donghyuck could joke around and reassure his best friend in that moment, he couldn't stop the swarm of dark thoughts invading his brain.

He'd been so preoccupied with the excitement of finally moving that he hadn't stopped to think of the dangers.

What if Mark was the one who refused to go? Donghyuck was very aware that his dreams didn't dictate his boyfriend's life at all, and that scared him. Maybe Mark wasn't willing to give up everything like he was. 

Donghyuck's mind could not stop running wild with the possibilities. Just when he thought that happiness and serenity had finally flooded through his gates and allowed him to live peacefully, his paranoia settled in. He could reassure Ten, but he couldn't reassure himself.

Would he stay with Mark? Or would he move, even if the love of his life didn't want to? He couldn't answer that honestly to himself. It hurt, knowing that some boy came before his dreams. He didn't want to face that truth, not now, not ever.

He was willing to give up everything for Mark. His livelihood, his friends, his passion and his dreams.

But was Mark willing to give everything up for him?

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was late that night and they were all eating the food prepared by the best friends, laughing together without a care in the world. The nervousness was itching and scratching and gnawing at the youngest, he still didn't want to accept the truth.

He would give up on dance for Mark.

Donghyuck pushed that to the back of his mind and shoved another cupcake into his mouth to occupy himself. Even talking felt suffocating.

He did have to admit, however, that Mark smiling so sweetly at him was beginning to calm his nerves. He remembered what he'd said to Ten. Mark loves him. He knows that. He would do anything for him.

And for once, there was no second voice in his head saying, 

'Would he? Would he really?'

"Hyuckie, you okay?" Came the voice of his knight in shining armour that brushed his negative thoughts to the side as if they were meaningless. 

"Yep. Perfectly fine. I just love you." He said quietly and pecked Mark on the cheek.

It was perfect. Picture-perfect, you could say. Almost... Too perfect. 

Maybe, with his years of experience with the coldness of the outside world, Donghyuck should've known that all perfect things have a way of getting destroyed. 

Maybe, just maybe, he could've saved himself the pain.

It all started with a rustling in the bushes. They were laughing, playing around, flirting, kissing. It was sweet, it was perfect. 

Taeyong suddenly turned his gaze to Mark, and the brothers shared an unreadable look. Suddenly, the tension rose. It almost came out of nowhere. 

The two stayed in an intense staring contest, until Taeyong got up. His face reflected pure fear. Not an ounce of love, happiness or peace was displayed across his features.

Just pure and agonising fear. 

Ten knew his boyfriend well enough to read that look. 

"Ten, come on. We need to go." He said quickly and grabbed his boyfriend by the sleeve before he could even protest.

"Yong? What's going on?" Ten asked in confusion, his face contorting into an expression of pain. Taeyong was holding him too tightly for his liking.

""Hyuck, come on." The oldest said, completely ignoring his boyfriend.

He was also grabbing onto the sleeve of the youngest, but unlike Ten, he wasn't standing up.

"I want to stay here." He said in confusion, turning to Mark who just nodded. His expression was unreadable still.

The rustling only got louder.

Nobody even paid attention except from Taeyong, all stuck in their own worlds. Ten was panicking. He'd never seen his boyfriend with such an intense expression on his face, and it terrified him to say the least. 

Donghyuck was extremely confused. Why did Taeyong get up so fast? Why was he pulling Ten away? And why did he want to take him too? It made no sense. 

The air was too thick, too thick to breathe.

And just like that, Taeyong took off running into the forest with his boyfriend tripping behind him. It was hard to keep up, but he knew Taeyong well enough that if he was running, it was for a reason.

They shared a heart, and that heart told them both to run. They trusted each other to not look back.

Donghyuck watched them walk away with a perplexed look on his face before looking back at Mark.

"That was so weird, don't you think?" He mumbled and scratched the back of his neck. 

"Mhm." Mark responded with a simple hum, before running a hand through his hair.

"Anyway, I have something important to tell you."

Just as the younger was about to start speaking again, to tell the love of his life that he'd finally done it, he had made him proud, he heard footsteps.

Loud ones. Deafening ones. 

"Police, hands up!'

His heart stopped.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> his burden.

"my covered eyes are stained with blood. I just wanna make you scream."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Scream  
Dreamcatcher  
1:05 ───|────── 3:24  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

His whole life, Donghyuck had been surrounded by noise and chaos. His parents' yelling, the music in the studio, Ten rambling... there was always noise.

He got used to it eventually; the noise. It almost became a part of him, it was comforting, it meant that everything was the way it should be.

But oftentimes, Hyuck wished for silence. The noise tended to get quite overwhelming and he just wanted a moment of calm and serenity.

The cruel hands of fate never seemed to grant him his wish, keeping his life full of noise and disarray. He'd learned to deal with it and move on, not everyone could get what they wanted all the time. And he was fine with that. Life goes on.

But if he'd ever wished for silence, it was never more than at this moment. 

His breath completely stopped. The three words he never wanted to hear; the three words he was so close to escaping from forever. 

Lost in his mind, in his invasive thoughts of death and intense worry for Mark, the youngest only felt the cold and hard ground knock the wind out of him. 

Everything was still a haze. Noise, lots of noise, lots of yelling, lots of screaming. Not one moment of silence. 

A strong punch to his stomach, a kick to the face. More hits, more punches, no end in sight. 

"Fucking fag."

He heard someone spit. He ignored the words and tried to protect himself from the officers beating him up. He wanted to survive and go to America. He didn't want anything more.

A loud cry left his lips as the officers on the scene continued beating him up. His whole body hurt so bad, throbbed with the intense pain, his heart hurt from the disgusting comments spat at him, everything hurt. 

More cries and more tears came from Donghyuck as he was brutally beaten up by the so-called 'protectors' of the country. Not as if anybody could stop them.

At least they weren't hurting Mark. He was grateful for that much. 

"Just fucking kill the whore now!" One of them laughed. They laughed. The mocking laugh was stuck in the boy's head, mocking him for being so weak. He wasn't even fighting back. 

He'd accepted his fate by now.

They say your life flashes before your eyes as you die. Maybe that's true. All Donghyuck could see was Mark. Everything they'd done together, their hopes for a future together, ruined now. Because he couldn't fight back.

He didn't want to die a disappointment. But it seemed like there was no other way; he'd ruined any shot at a future with Mark and ruined his dreams by being so stupid and weak.

The harsh reality set in as Donghyuck felt the cold barrel of the gun pressed against his head. This was it; his last breath. 

He was terrified, sure. Who wouldn't be? 

But he knew that whether he panicked or not, he wouldn't live past his day. And suddenly, it was all okay.

He opened his eyes and looked around for Mark. He wanted to see his face before everything went dark and he got the silence he'd always wanted.

Time was moving in slow-motion, quite like in the movies, as their eyes met.

The younger saw something he'd never seen in Mark's eyes before.

Boredom.

He was bored. Just sitting there. 

The moment of silence was short-lived, but said more than any words could've possibly. 

They stared into each other's souls, neither saying anything. There wasn't anything really that needed to be said, the silence spoke volumes enough. 

The cock of the gun came. This was it; his last moments. Donghyuck wished to see Mark's loving eyes one last time, but he was already used to the cold hands of the universe. 

And at that moment, milliseconds before everything went black, he knew what needed to be said. The appropriate words came crashing down on him like a tsunami, making his head spin and mouth twist into the smallest smile. That smile was so small it was barely visible; but it was there. The saddest smile anyone could ever witness, the saddest smile speaking three words, the last words it could ever speak again.

"I forgive you." 

And then the world went black, the deafening sound of a gunshot ringing in Donghyuck's ears as his last breath left his lips.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"What the hell was that?!" Ten whisper-yelled at his boyfriend as they ran off into the forest. Ten may trust Taeyong, but that didn't mean he wasn't utterly confused.

"Listen to me-"

"Police, hands up!" 

Ten heard the sound in the distance, and the colour drained from his face completely. "Oh my god." He whispered and looked behind them, seeing figures of police officers running to where his best friend was.

He wanted to run after them and save Hyuck. He wanted that more than anything in the world. 

The boy was someone he saw as his younger brother; someone he cared about more than himself. He'd vowed to protect him always, and that he would do.

If only Taeyong wasn't holding onto him tightly, preventing him from doing anything but watch as the person he loved like a brother get beaten up.

"You won't help, they'll just kill you. Please.." Taeyong whispered, relaxing as Ten stopped struggling. 

Tears cascaded down the younger's face like a waterfall, his body falling limp in Taeyong's hold. 

"I-I can't.. He's gonna die.. Please let me.." He cried softly, ugly sobs leaving his mouth and disappearing into the night, blending in with the cruel yells of the officers.

"Ten I can't. I'm so sorry." He whispered and kissed his boyfriend's head. 

Though he wasn't best friends with Donghyuck, he certainly had grown to care about him like a son.

Tears were pooling in Taeyong's eyes, both from seeing the scene before him and from his boyfriend crying. There was nothing he could think of that could be more sad than this; it was heartbreaking.

Everything changed the second that shot was heard, and the thud of Donghyuck's head falling onto the ground echoed in the night.

"NO!" Came a scream from Ten, who collapsed completely. The shrill shriek was lost in the sound of the bullets ricocheting off nearby trees that killed the youngest of the once-happy group.

Sobs mixed with yells mixed with laughing mixed with silence; the chaos of the night's death destroying every ounce 0f happiness in Ten.

A deafening silence yet again engulfed the surrounding area, not one person even daring to breathe.

The silence was shattered by a chorus of laughter, coming from the murderers responsible for the destruction of someone's whole world. 

"Didn't even fight back, pathetic. What more did we expect from a fag though, huh? See you round, kiddo." Came a voice, from who Ten presumed to be the leader of the police squad.

"Here's your money, good job. Keep up the good work." Came another voice.

That's when Ten noticed Mark sitting down by the edge of the cliff, taking the envelope from the police officers. 

It was at that moment, everything made sense.

Everything clicked all at once. Why they had a lot of money. Why Taeyong never talked about his job. Why Mark gave him bad vibes. 

Why Mark never seemed to look at Hyuck the same way the younger did; full of love and promise as opposed to coldness and distance.

He wasn't imagining it. Mark never did love Donghyuck.

It was all a lie. And Mark wasn't the only liar; there was another liar among him.

Ten spun around so fast he may as well have got whiplash, to face the man he loved.

"Ten.." Taeyong began, avoiding his boyfriend's gaze. 

"Shut up." The younger mumbled in a tone so cold, so heartbroken, so heartless. His face was bright red, voice croaky from screaming and crying and sobbing, hair forming a mess stuck to his head, 

"Ten, you have to listen to me." Taeyong spoke calmly, stepping forwards towards Ten. His hands were slowly coming up to reach for his boyfriend, voice slightly shaky. He was on the verge of tears, but Ten didn't care. 

"I don't have to listen to shit. Go, do your job, call the cops, have me killed. That's the only reason we ever met, right?" He said, ending his question with a laugh.

A deceiving laugh; full of only bitterness and no joy.

"Tennie."

"You have no right to call me that. You lost that privilege. I can't even look at your sorry face right now." He scoffed and stepped back, far away from Taeyong.

"Please. I really love you. I wanted to leave, go to America." He whispered, letting his hands hang by his side and his head face the ground. 

"How many deaths of young, innocent people have you caused? How many people have you deceived like me, huh?"

Another silence. 

"Tell me!" Ten screamed, the sound rippling through the air, piercing Taeyong's heart.

"14." The older whispered, tears cascading down his face like a waterfall.

"Fuck you." Ten spat. 

He couldn't think of anything else to say. Out of all the boys he could've loved, it had to be the one who wanted to betray him. 

He should've seen it coming. People never actually cared about him; it was always a lie. 

Everything was a lie. Taeyong was a lie. Love was a lie. 

"Ten please listen to me. Let me explain at least. I didn't have any other job options. I took this job because it paid well.. Then I met you. And I fell for you. I thought Mark felt the same way towards Donghyuck, I thought they were in love too.

"I had every intention to run away with you. I love you so much, I don't care what I have to do, I just want to be with you. Don't leave me, give me another chance. Ten I love you-

Taeyong was sobbing by the end of his speech, only interrupted by Ten screaming again. 

"You think a sob speech is going to save you?! You think telling me you love me will bring back all the 14 people that are dead because of you?! You think you can earn my trust back by claiming that you never planned my death, huh?!" He screamed, his vocal chords ripping, but he paid no attention.

With every word, both their hearts broke more. 

Taeyong realised Ten was right. He could never fix what he had done, and he could never have Ten again. 

"Answer me!!" Ten screamed even louder. Storming over to Taeyong, he grabbed the older by the shirt and screamed in his face.

"Ten.. you're gonna get the police here. Calm down, please." Taeyong whispered and looked the man he loved in his eyes. 

That moment, that moment of eye contact, Taeyong saw the sadness in Ten's eyes. The heartbreak, the betrayal, the anger. He felt so disgusted in himself, but this wasn't about him. He had no right to try to get any sympathy.

"Am I? Am I, huh?" Ten whispered before pushing Taeyong to the ground. 

"Am I?!" He repeated again as Taeyong groaned lightly.

"Ten what are you doing.." he mumbled as he slowly got back up again. His favourite shirt forever ruined from the mud on the floor.

"I really, really, really fucking loved you, Taeyongie." He whispered in a broken voice from the shrieks and from the cries and from the deceit. 

The name was usually so adorable. Taeyong loved hearing his name from Ten's mouth, but now it held such hate and aggression in it that Taeyong forgot how to breathe.

He didn't want to hear it like this.

And with that, Ten took off running back to where Donghyuck lay in a pool of his own rose-coloured blood. 

"Ten what are you doing?!" Taeyong screamed when he finally noticed. He started chasing after him, ugly sobs escaping his lips.

Mark was sitting by the cliff still, his boys barely moving except for the steady rise of his chest, and his fingers counting the money in the envelope.

At the commotion, he turned around to be faced with Ten.

"I hate you, always have and always will." Ten growled towards the Canadian before chuckling bitterly.

Mark ignored the statement. Not a word came from him, no matter what was happening.

"Hey, you! I'm gay too! Come and kill me!" Ten began screaming after the police officers. Tears were running down his face still; a never ending river of despair.

By the time Taeyong got to where then love of his life was screaming, he only heard one thing.

It was not screaming, not yelling, not fighting, not crying.

A single gunshot. 

He made eye contact with Ten, sharing one last look of love before Ten dropped lifeless to the cold ground beneath him with a hole in his head and a hole in his heart.

Taeyong's heart dropped when he heard the loud thud of the man he loved dying. He couldn't even speak or cry, the gunshot ringing through his ears.

Time moved slower than time itself as Taeyong stared into the dead eyes of Ten. 

"I will always love you, my Tennie. I hope you forgive me." He whispered after what felt like an eternity.

And as the clock ticked by, so did Taeyong's misery. 

He felt empty. Everything he loved was gone. 

He couldn't even feel sad, he just felt so numb and broken.

Before Mark could count another money note, before the police officers could get back to their cars, before Taeyong could register that he could hear again, he ran after the officers.

And just like that, in a split second of time, another gunshot was heard.

Another lifeless body dropped to the ground.

Yet this time, it wasn't innocent. 

Taeyong had grabbed the gun from the cop's holster, pressing it against his temple and pulling the trigger faster than he could be stopped. 

Yet another life wasted, thrown in the trash, for something that none of them deserved. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

They say that time heals all wounds.

Mark stood at the edge of the cliff, staring at the bodies of his brother, brother's boyfriend, and the man he loved. Three bodies, all lifeless and dead in an instant. 

All because of him.

Mark wanted to believe that time would heal, but inside he knew, he had done something that would weigh his conscience forever.

Staring down at the corpses before him, he realised the severity of what he'd done. He first turned his attention to where Taeyong lay, blood pooling around his lolling head like dirty water leaking from a rusty pipe.

His own brother, dead because of him. 

His head couldn't; wouldn't accept it, the world felt empty without his older brother there to protect him. Mark felt as if he had a target on his back; vulnerable out in the wild by himself for the first time.

All because of him.

He then looked at Ten. Though they never necessarily liked each other, Mark felt the guilt weighing down on him so heavily he could collapse from the pressure. He killed the person his brother loved. They could've been happy; living happily. But they were dead.

All because of him.

And finally, he fell to his knees in front of Donghyuck's long dead body. His mind void of any emotion, any thoughts.

He stayed in that position for hours, staring, silent, and broken. 

He had never come to terms with it, but he had truly fallen in love. He hadn't shot down a star, he'd shot down his whole universe. 

The man he loved, cherished and adored; the man who loved, cherished and adored him; the man he wanted to spend all sleepiness nights with; the man he wanted to take to America; the man he wanted to marry... gone.

The man who wanted to become a dancer; the man who sacrificed every night and every penny for his passion; the man who had trusted him with his life; the man who had dreams so large they were almost overwhelming in the best way possible... dead.

The man that the whole world deserved to see; the talent that he possessed; the passion and spark inside him; the way he smiled; the way he laughed; the way he cared about everyone except himself; the way he put socks on Mark's feet during the night because it was cold... it was all gone. Destroyed.

All. Because. Of. Him.

Mark didn't know if he was ready to accept that.

The dark night was pierced through with Mark's now emerging sobs. He punched the ground with his fists and shook Donghyuck's dead body, praying for a miracle.

"Please come back.. Please Hyuckie. I love you so much. I'm sorry I never said it before. Please. I'm begging you. I'll do anything." 

He begged and pleaded and cried, the night unforgiving as his misery was drowned out by the wind.

As the sun rose, he was still there, shaking from the cold and from his crying in grief for the lives lost. No amount of time would ever heal these wounds.

Every saying has an exception. And Mark was just that.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A week had passed since that fateful day, and Mark was on his way to Doyoung's house. He planned to have a funeral for Donghyuck, Ten and Taeyong, and he'd wanted Doyoung to attend since they were close.

It was the least they deserved; a good funeral. 

When Mark finally arrived after what seemed like an hour's journey, he knocked on the door quite loudly. It was fairly early, so he wanted to make sure Doyoung wasn't asleep.

A couple seconds passed and Doyoung opened the door, a mug of coffee in hand with messy hair.

"Hello? Who are you?" He asked, looking Mark up and down. 

"My name is Mark. I'm Hyuck's boyfri- ex." He said, the last part quieter. Even saying Hyuck's name hurt him inside, but he knew he truly deserved that pain. It was all his fault anyway.

"Ex? What on Earth happened?" Doyoung frowned. The older had seen firsthand how much Donghyuck loved Mark, and it felt unlikely that they would break up.

The universe can really surprise you.

"He... died. He was caught by the police. So was Ten." Mark mumbled, tears gathering in his eyes. Even after hours upon hours of crying, he still had more tears left to cry.

"What..?" Doyoung whispered, staring at Mark intently as if he knew there was more to the story.

Mark was still too much of a coward to own up to what he'd done anyway.

"I'm having a funeral for them. In America. I have enough for plane tickets for us. Please come." He said after a short moment of silence.

All of a sudden, a small boy walked into the kitchen. 

"Youngie? What's wrong?" He whispered, pulling Doyoung into a comforting hug.

Mark put two and two together, quickly figuring out that it was Doyoung's boyfriend who Hyuck had mentioned multiple times; Taeil.

"It's Hyuck.. And Ten... They're gone.." Doyoung cried out, broken sobs releasing into the room. 

"Oh my god.. come here." Taeil said and pulled his boyfriend into his arms while whispering comforting words into his ear.

As Taeil hugged, kissed and comforted Taeil, Mark couldn't stop staring. 

Maybe it was the trauma from the week before, or maybe it was the guilt manipulating him, but he felt an intense sheet of anger envelope him.

It was sick, twisted, but all he could think of was how dare they be happy while he could never have that same happiness. 

Jealousy is an ugly emotion, that makes people do ugly things. That's what Mark told himself, as in a split second, he grabbed the large kitchen knife from the drawer.

Taeil noticed. But it was too late to run, so all he could do was hug the love of his life one last time before their last breath. 

Doyoung felt the air get punched out of him as the slick metal blade punctured his organs, the pain ripping his soul apart. But no pain could compare to the pain he felt as he saw Taeil with a knife also in his body, both of them dropping to the floor.

They didn't try to escape the reality. There was no point.

They simply held each other, listening to the rhythmic decline of their heartbeats.

"Doyoungie... I love you so much.." came the broken voice of Taeil as he breathed his last breath, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Doyoung coughed up blood, too weak to speak, but his eyes repeated the words back to the love of his life and he passed into the unknown, buried in his lover's arms.

Mark dropped the knife, his head going dizzy. He snapped out of his foggy headspace, faced with the reality of his actions.

Another two, dead because of him.

And it was his burden to carry, forever.


	21. EPILOGUE.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a letter.

"A letter to the beyond."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

◜ ◝  
Fake Love (Rocking Vibe Mix)  
BTS  
1:05 ───|────── 3:58  
|◁ II ▷|

▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100 %  
◟ ◞

ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊  
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩  
┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ✩   
┊ ⊹ ✯  
✯

Dear Hyuckie,

It's been five years since your death. Every night, I've mourned you. Whether I've been happy or sad, you were always in my mind. I still carry the weight of what happened that night.

I know you'll never read this. That's okay. I think this is more for myself, to be honest. 

The bits and pieces of what I remember from that night are finally sorted out in my mind, so I think you deserve an explanation.

Are you even watching? Where are you? Maybe you're in heaven. Scratch that, you're definitely in heaven. You're an angel, Hyuck. My little angel.

But anyway, I'm gonna write down and tell you what happened. I owe you that much, even beyond the grave.

I was brought up super homophobic. I also had slightly violent tendencies, but i think that was just me being a hormonal teenager. Long story short, I took a job for the police as a sort of 'bounty hunter' or something.

It paid well, so Taeyong and I took it up full time. They'd suspected Doyoung of hiding gay people, but they couldn't just storm the place, so they sent me in.

No matter how many times I tried to convince myself that you were disgusting, I couldn't do it. I'd fallen for you, and boy did I fall hard.

My boss was coming down on me, and you'd just gotten enough to move to America... So i shut my feelings up and did my job.

At first, when you died, I was happy. I did what I always did. Then, as more corpses collapsed around me, I realised what I'd done. I realised that I loved you so much.

You didn't deserve that.. I'll never forgive myself. You had such potential. Speaking of potential, I hope you're dancing well up there. 

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for betraying you, and for taking your love for granted. I hope you truly meant the words 'I'll forgive you', or I don't think I can get up again tomorrow. That's selfish of me to say, but it's true.

After that day, a week later, I went to see Doyoung. He was so adorable with Taeil... My memory is still hazy; I can barely remember what actually happened that day. 

I killed them. I got so jealous that I couldn't have that same happiness with you like they did with each other. I think part of me expected the whole world to be put on pause, but life isn't that simple. I don't know how to live with myself. I'm sure you're having fun up there with them, at least I'd like to think that way. It's selfish of me, I know, but I can't help it.

It's easier on my conscience, as disgusting as that sounds.

I buried all 5 of you; Ten, Taeyong, Doyoung, Taeil and you.. Doyoung and Taeil in Korea, and the three of you here in America.

Oh yeah! I moved to America too. You always wanted to study here, so I wanted to somewhat honour your wish.

I posted that dance video of us, too. It did pretty well, and now I'm a popular dancer on youtube. I wish you were here with me to experience the dream too. It's all thanks to you, anyway.

I'm doing honestly pretty well. I've gotten a lot of therapy, and I don't get nightmares anymore. I know I probably deserve them. Knowing you, you'd probably hug me and tell me I don't, no matter what. You were always so selfless and kind, you never wanted anyone to suffer.

The more I write, the more I miss you. But I need to get these words out, before they swallow me up completely.

I met someone. He's... amazing. You're still the love of my life, but life is moving on, and slowly... I am too. It's been 5 years, after all.

He doesn't know about what happened. I'm still a coward. I know I'll have to tell him eventually.

I talk about you a lot to him, actually. He said he doesn't mind. In fact, he said he wishes he met you. I'm sure you two would've hit it off. 

I'm in a small apartment living with him, but it's enough for me. Every year, I come to your graves and talk to you. Have you heard me talking? Maybe, maybe not. I guess it's not even that important.

Now before I sign off, forever, and continue with my life, I want you to know that I love you, and I would give up everything to have you back.

I still live with the resentment. I can't even bring myself to write to Taeyong; he hates me probably. If you're with him, can you tell him I'm sorry too? 

I miss Taeyong a lot. And you. And weirdly, even Ten. Though he was right to hate me.

But anyway... I hope you're doing well. I love you so much, never forget that.

I miss meeting you in the dance studio at night, I miss braiding flower crowns with you, I miss everything we did together..

All storms pass eventually. It was hard at first, it still is, but I think the storm is slowly passing. Maybe time does eventually heal.

I love you.. more than the sun and moon and stars combined. 

I hope you know that. 

\- Your Markie 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

FIN.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So..  
> Hi! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ 
> 
> This has been such a journey, I abandoned this book for a while since I lost motivation. But I'm so glad I finished it!!
> 
> This has been planned from the beginning, this wasn't an ending that came out of nowhere. It was super sad to write, but definitely my favourite chapter was chapter 20!
> 
> Did you guys enjoy this? At the time of writing, none of this has been published, so I'm not even sure if anybody is even reading. 
> 
> Please leave your thoughts, and vote! I want to do an interactive AU sometime soon.
> 
> But this was so emotional to write, and I'm satisfied with this. I hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> I may do a Q&A for the characters, should I? Let me know!
> 
> But... that's all from me! See you guys, Pluto out!
> 
> Pluto  
> (20:18)  
> Logging off....


End file.
